Ingredients: 18 round mold

Steps

1.
Boil the water for the hot water bath in a slightly large pot. Combine the cake flour and corn starch, and sift. Prepare the mold by covering it in cooking paper. Start preheating the oven to 180°C.

2.
Place the eggs into a bowl, whisk a little, add in the granulated sugar, and lightly stir.
Place the bowl into the pot from Step 1, and whip with a hand mixer while keeping it in the hot water bath. Stick a finger in, check to see if it is a bit hotter than bath water, and then take the bowl out.

3.
Place the vegetable oil and water into a container then place into the hot water bath and warm it up. (Take care not to spill it).

4.
Whip the eggs even more on a high speed. Continue until it thickens and is a bit heavy in the center when scooped up.

5.
Reduce to a low speed, and whip for 1~2 minutes. Remove the blades from the hand mixer, and stand them up in the batter. It's done once it takes 3~4 seconds for it to fall. Add in the vanilla oil and give it a quick stir.

6.
Add in the flour mixture all at once, and fold it onto itself 30 times. Add in the vegetable oil and water from Step 3 using a spatula, and stir 15-20 more times so that there are no inconsistencies.

7.
Pour into the mold, and drop from a height of 2-3 several times to remove the air. Place a pan into the oven, and pour in the water from the hot water bath. Stack the other pan on top of that, and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. It will dry out if you over bake it so please be careful.

8.
It's ready once you stick it with a toothpick and it comes out clean. Flip it upside down on top of a cake rack covered in plastic wrap, remove the paper from the edges, and cover with the original mold.
Cover with more plastic wrap on top, covering the entire mold and then letting it cool.

Story Behind this Recipe

I was able to make a tall sponge cake, but was unable to make it rich and fluffy...Aiming for a restaurant taste that melts in your mouth, I read several books, took out the best portions, and was finally able to make a recipe I can be satisfied with. I wonder how many times I failed...It took me 10 years since I started making snacks to now to get this far...My husband loves sponge cake, so I wanted to succeed no matter what.

Helpful Hints

①Whip at a low speed in the final stages to settle in the bubbles.②When mixing the flour in, mix it well without getting nervous. It's fine as long as you don't mix it like you're kneading it.③Stacking 2 pans together and baking it in a hot water bath will make it rich. If you don't have 2 pans, then place a heat-resistant container larger than the mold into the pan with the hot water, and then place the mold into that.④After baking, wrap it up in the mold with plastic wrap to strongly prevent it from drying out!